Give ordinary people the right tools, and they will design and build the most extraordinary things.

That’s the idea behind Fab Labs, which originated as an outreach project at MIT's Center for Bits & Atoms (CBA) by Professor Neil Gershenfeld, who will be coming to Washington, DC on November 3rd for a presentation about the fab lab project, new research, and cutting-edge developments in technology that are changing the way we live, work, and make things.

To help launch Fab Lab DC, Professor Gershenfeld will be speaking to DC's creative community about the Fab Lab project, which provides widespread access to modern means for invention.

Fab labs are community workshops that provide digital fabrication, 3D printing technology and educational resources (classes on technology, one-on-one instruction, immersive field trips from local schools) to the greater community. These workshops enable people of all ages to use cutting-edge digital technologies to create and produce physical prototypes ~ if you can dream it, you can access tools to build it.

Fab labs strive to bring opportunity found in top-shelf universities to under-privileged communities. At these labs, local artisans have access to new materials and processes, tinkerers and engineers can experiment with ground-breaking technologies, and children gain exposure to a world of exciting possibilities and empowered imaginations. At Fab labs, ordinary citizens create solutions to everyday problems. Fab labs have seen success worldwide, spreading from inner-city Boston to rural India, from South Africa to the North of Norway.

FAB LAB DC is for local community members, life-long learners, inventors, entrepreneurs, creatives, and professionals.

Professor Neil Gershenfeld is the Director of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms. His unique laboratory is breaking down boundaries between the digital and physical worlds, from creating molecular quantum computers to virtuosic musical instruments. Technology from his lab has been seen and used in settings including New York's Museum of Modern Art and rural Indian villages, the White House and the World Economic Forum, inner-city community centers and automobile safety systems, Las Vegas shows and Sami herds. He is the author of numerous technical publications, patents, and books including Fab, When Things Start To Think, The Nature of Mathematical Modeling, and The Physics of Information Technology, and has been featured in media such as The New York Times, The Economist, and the McNeil/Lehrer News Hour. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, has been named one of Scientific American's 50 leaders in science and technology, has been selected as a CNN/Time/Fortune Principal Voice, and by Prospect/FP as one of the top 100 public intellectuals. Dr. Gershenfeld has a BA in Physics with High Honors and an honorary Doctor of Science from Swarthmore College, a Ph.D. from Cornell University, was a Junior Fellow of the Harvard University Society of Fellows, and a member of the research staff at Bell Labs.

He is the originator of the growing global network of field fab labs that provide widespread access to prototype tools for personal fabrication, and directs the Fab Academy, the associated program for distributed research and education in the principles and practices of digital fabrication.

“Science of Art Laboratory” (SOFALab) is a collaborative project from the Director of Printmaking at George Mason University, Helen Fredrick; the Executive Director of Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, Shanti Norris; and the Founder of Hamiltonian Artists and physics professor of George Mason University, Paul So. The goal of this project is to initiate the spark of communication and to look for commonalities that can bring out new understanding and develop new tools of interactions from both the sciences and arts with the aim that these interactions and findings can affect boarder intellectual and/or social changes. The SOFAlab is generously supported by the Center for Consciousness and Transformation from George Mason University.

Sponsors ~

Center for Consciousness and Transformation:

Initiated in 2009, the Center for Consciousness and Transformation is an interdisciplinary research and teaching center at George Mason University whose mission is to understand the nature and effects of individual and group consciousness and its role in transformative learning and social change. A central premise of the Center is that human consciousness is a key variable in the process of transformative learning for individuals, which in turn can lead to transformational change on individual, organizational, and societal levels. The Center's approach incorporates traditions and practices with modern scientific methods for full exploration of the vast worlds of consciousness and transformation.

Founded in 2007, Hamiltonian Artists is a non-profit art organization with its mission to build a dynamic community of innovative artists and effective visual art leaders by providing professional development opportunities to new innovative artists and by advancing their entrepreneurial success. The competitive Hamiltonian Fellowship Program provides critical exhibition, financial and artistic support to promising emerging artists working in all media and we also offer free professional development lectures and workshops to help area artists build the necessary business skills to help them navigate the ever-changing landscape of their profession.

Founded in 1996, Smith Center for Healing and the Arts is a nonprofit health, education, and arts organization with its mission to develop and promote healing practices that explore physical, emotional, and mental resources that lead to life-affirming changes for people living with illness and for the community at large.

When & Where

Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 6:00 PM (EDT)

Organizer

FAB LAB DC

About Fab Lab DC ~

You Can Make It in DC !

Innovation, Education, Job Training,

Business Incubation &

New Product Development

In the spirit of MIT’s Fab Lab community outreach project, FAB LAB DC is a high-tech, fabrication laboratory/community workshop in the heart of the Nation’s Capital to advance creativity, innovation, and collaborative projects.

FAB LAB DC fosters the creative community by providing access to digital fabrication technology, rapid prototyping, and the global Fab Lab network. Fab Labs enable people to use technology to create, experiment and produce, shifting the paradigm away from people merely “consuming” technology toward using technology to create solutions.

With a focus on life-long learning and emphasis on investigative teamwork, FAB LAB DC is bringing a range of educational opportunities for people of all ages, including access to the international Fab Lab network and Fab Academy, which extend opportunities for information sharing, research, and broader social impact.

FAB LAB DC is for local community members, life-long learners, inventors, entrepreneurs, creatives, and professionals.